During the industrial era of the 19th century, the scientists and engineers of the time hit upon an ingenious idea to power the mechanisms and engine of the day. They heated up water and used the steam as the main source of propulsion. In the 20th century, that form of power generation fell out of favor as being less efficient than the fuel of choice, petroleum, but in our new century, it may be time to revisit this technology in a new way. Vermeulens has always prided itself on being architectural cost consultants with an eye for the future, and a big advocate for sustainability in everything from the way we build to how we provide the critical power to keep our infrastructure operating. America is one of the leaders in geothermal energy, and we believe that, given time, this may be one more way that we can provide cheap, clean, sustainable energy for our cities, homes and workplaces. How It Works Geothermal energy is just a variation of steam power, only instead of using burning coahttp://www.vermeulens.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=16750&A=Link&ObjectID=6376634&ObjectType=35&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.vermeulens.com%252fblog%252fsteam-is-still-part-of-our-future

One of the most pressing concerns many people have in the 21st century—and with good reason—are related to sustainability and efficiency. Modern human society uses resources at an alarming rate and for over a century, we have taken far more from the environment than we have given back. In today’s culture, we now have a greater awareness of our role as the dominant species on the planet, and the consequences of our rapid, voracious expansion, which is why we now try to be more efficient and more sustainable with our efforts. Our buildings are an especially important part of this process, traditionally demanding a huge amount of resources, but as architectural cost consultants, Vermeulens is dedicated to ensuring our clients don’t spend more than they need to, and, perhaps more importantly, don’t use more than they need to. However, another interesting challenge that is now entering into architecture is the integration of clean energy sources into the buildings themselhttp://www.vermeulens.com/RSSRetrieve.aspx?ID=16750&A=Link&ObjectID=6209166&ObjectType=35&O=http%253a%252f%252fwww.vermeulens.com%252fblog%252fdesigning-for-a-solar-future